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Nurses Relations

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6 pts......all strict contact iso. All have either trachs, vents, or both. All are incontinent B&B. All have a huge list of meds that must be crushed and given via PEG. We are talking total care here........makes for a long day.....

Family is present frequently and requires a lot of attention.

Very very hard job.

But then speech patho comes and puts a passey muir on one of my pts and the first thing she says to me is "thank you for being such a comfort to me".

That makes it all worthwhile. Then another family, the mom and the brother of a guy my age...he is weaning off the vent but he will likely never progress beyond a GCS score of 5.....as they were leaving...it is my custom to touch people on the shoulder lightly to reassure them....well this time I did that and they wrapped their arms around me and gave me a huge hug.....

Then another....her dad is GCS 3, vent dependent.....being dc'd to home under hospice care....again...another big hug.....

Another thread says nursing is slavery...I say nursing is a labor of love. I say that many seem to have lost the caring and compassion element of nursing.

I say that if any nurse does not love what they do...it may be time for them to re-evaluate what they are doing.......

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I am new at this....very new...but I can already see the heartbreak coming like a train wreck and I don't think I can stop it. management just keeps piling things on us to the point that it is just insane. Eventually we wont have any time left to care and at that point they might as well just bring in robots......

This is not subacute rehab...this is highly acute long term care. These folks would be in the ICU at any normal hospital. Highly complex patients....we have raps and code blues daily.....they usually are folks that are stable in CCU or ICU at the normal hospital but still need close monitoring.

We do have our own ICU in case they go south....

It is very very challenging especially for a new grad like me. I will learn a lot. The bad part is that we nurses are so taxed for time that I see many peers taking shortcuts, especially when it comes to infection control protocols. Also I see them chart ALOT of things that they simply are not doing....

I am fearful that if I try to go by the book I wont be able to keep up once I am off of orientation and on my own........

It is sad that profit and healthcare are ever used in the same breath.....

You work in an LTAC, right? I supervised in one and it was exhausting. Ltac are another subject all in of themselves and technically they are paid the same as if they were just plain LTC. Scary isn't it.? Yes the staff did take some shortcuts for survival. I'll admit that.....but they were amongst the most devoted and dedicated staff I had ever seen. You described, in a nut shell, what nursing has always been about for me.

You are learning a ton mindlor....I have followed your posts and your growth over the last few years. You have become quite the nurse. You do yourself proud.

:hug: Welcome to nursing....;)

You are too kind I am afraid....I have so much to learn. I feel like an infant. I pray everyday that I do no harm to a patient. I was involved in a rapid response the other day and I was really really impressed by the nursing supervisor and how she handled everything. Just soooo fluid and calm. She was amazing. She has tons of experience. I am going to ask her to be my mentor :) I hope she says yes.

6 pts......all strict contact iso. All have either trachs, vents, or both. All are incontinent B&B. All have a huge list of meds that must be crushed and given via PEG. We are talking total care here........makes for a long day.....

Family is present frequently and requires a lot of attention.

Very very hard job.

But then speech patho comes and puts a passey muir on one of my pts and the first thing she says to me is "thank you for being such a comfort to me".

That makes it all worthwhile. Then another family, the mom and the brother of a guy my age...he is weaning off the vent but he will likely never progress beyond a GCS score of 5.....as they were leaving...it is my custom to touch people on the shoulder lightly to reassure them....well this time I did that and they wrapped their arms around me and gave me a huge hug.....

Then another....her dad is GCS 3, vent dependent.....being dc'd to home under hospice care....again...another big hug.....

Another thread says nursing is slavery...I say nursing is a labor of love. I say that many seem to have lost the caring and compassion element of nursing.

I say that if any nurse does not love what they do...it may be time for them to re-evaluate what they are doing.......

It certainly can be rough out there somedays! And it's usually those days, that my patients make me feel at my best! Just when I think I have had enough, one of them says something that makes me feel like what I do is worth it. Through the good and the bad, we have to remember why we became nurses!!

Specializes in ICU.

Great post Mindlor! Sounds like you were working an interesting floor that day.

I have about 15-18 patients depending on the day. Sub-acute rehab. With extensive wound care, HBO, dialysis, and at least one trach/Jtube. I often find myself wondering what a bathroom is, and if my blood sugar's going to crash to the point I'm dizzy. Plus admissions, new orders, etc. Its all about money.

Not everyone has these experiences and not everyone will love their job. Despite that they still might be good at it, and everyone needs a roof and to support their family. That's just life. It can't always be a Mary Poppin's world. Sometimes what's difficult can make you stronger too. Glad you're getting some positive feedback though!

Thank u for sharing your story. Caring is the most important thing we can do as nurses!

Six patients on isolation??? That's at least 3 too many! Crazy.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I appreciate that you are getting so much appreciation, mindlor! If only that appreciation would translate into a safe assignment that would prevent the inevitable trainwreck from occurring down the tracks! I have to say also that the element of judgement to other people here who are venting their frustrations was unnecessary. It's almost like people are reacting to a fellow nurse's frustration with a Compassion Competition.

Because I care, I would like safer staffing.

Exactly.

I was a PCA for 7 yrs. and I have been out of of the field for 5yrs. I'm now taking classes to be an RN & it's stories like this that me happy to be in the pursuit of becoming a RN. I miss the medical field. However I'm getting an opportunity to be apart of the Nurses Guild at my Church. They do BP checks, glucose monitoring & other health class. I'm so excited about being apart of that as well. Thanks for the awesome story. Patients family members & lived ones can really make your day.

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

I've never felt less like a slave than in nursing. In retail yes, in manufacturing and design yes. Nursing no. I'm in a field of nursing that has a high patient/family appreciation rate and every time they thank me I say honestly that it was my pleasure.

I used to be self employed. I had creativity, autonomy and freedom. I feel the same way about nursing sometimes too. Not slavery not to me.

I love this post! Thank you so much for sharing.

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